Alone
by Diva In The House
Summary: House/OMC friendship-no slash. House's new neighbor is there in a time of need, and an unlikely friendship forms. AU for 6x22, so there are spoilers for that episode.
1. Chapter 1

**Yep, another story. Vacation time has been very good to me. :) This one was originally an O/C Babes challenge fic that I've expanded. As usual, don't own House.**

# # #

"Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry…when I take you out in the surrey…take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top…"

House glanced toward the source of the deep baritone. A young man with spiky brown hair and earbuds firmly stuck in his ears was checking his mailbox. He spotted House as he closed the box, shifting his mail to his left hand and pulling out the earbuds.

"Looking for somebody?" The young man regarded House curiously.

"I live here." House shot him a brief glare.

The other man's eyebrows shot up over dark brown eyes. "You must be new." He extended his hand to House. "Jason Sanders. I'm in A."

House slowly extended his own hand. "Greg House. And I've probably lived here as long as you've been alive."

"Good to meet you, Greg." Jason tilted his head. "I just moved in here about two months ago. Kind of weird that we've never met."

"I've been…gone for a while." House decided he didn't need to explain further.

"Oh." An awkward silence fell between them. "Well, hey. I've got to go. Got a friend coming over to help me practice for an audition."

House groaned internally. "So you're an actor."

"Only locally." Jason laughed nervously, playing with his earbuds. "Graphic designer by day, song and dance man by night. Community theater, you know. Not exactly good enough for the big time."

House nodded in acknowledgement, gesturing toward his own door with his cane. "I'll just be going. Good luck with your audition thing."

"Thanks." Jason gave House a lopsided smile. "Hey, you know…if you ever want to hang out or something, let me know. I'm home most nights. Not that I don't have a life or anything, it's just…yeah." There was a brief pause. "Just knock on the door, okay?"

House was baffled, but intrigued. "Do you make a habit of inviting strange men into your apartment?"

Jason looked startled, then flustered. "No, of course not. Not all the time." The young man was starting to stumble over his words. "You just seem like kind of a cool guy, that's all. If you don't want to hang out, that's cool, too."

"I probably won't." House answered sharply. "I like my alone time."

"Okay." Jason looked a little like a kicked puppy. "I'll be around if you change your mind."

"Right." House turned and let himself into his apartment. It was quiet now that Alvie had flown the coop and headed for Arizona. Too bad, House thought. He had almost enjoyed having the guy around. At least things weren't boring then.

He sighed a little as he dumped his backpack by the door and hooked his cane over the door frame. His jacket soon followed, and he limped over to the piano, easing himself onto the bench with a wince and pouring himself a glass of bourbon from the bottle that waited for him. At least this was one friend that wouldn't abandon him.

Voices carried through the apartment door from the small hallway outside, and someone started tapping at the door. House ignored it at first, but whoever it was wasn't going away. In fact, the tapping grew louder.

House huffed irritably and pushed himself off the bench to answer. "Don't need any religion, and I'm up to my eyeballs in Thin Mints." He called through the door.

There was silence, followed by a clearing throat. "It's Jason. You know, from across the hall?"

House rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Yeah, I know. We met five minutes ago."

Jason looked a little startled. "Sorry. Just wanted to let you know that we'll be firing things up pretty soon. If it gets too loud, just bang on the door."

"Okay." House was baffled. "Didn't realize you Broadway types were such a rowdy bunch."

"You have no idea." Jason smiled a little. "Obviously you've never been to a wrap party."

House wasn't interested in details. "Well, thanks for the heads up. Bye."

With that House slammed the door and returned to the piano, taking a long drink of the bourbon that sat on top. He hoped this was the last he would hear from Jason tonight. All House really wanted was to be left alone. He didn't need anyone, especially young, dopey, overly friendly neighbors. As long as he had this apartment, his piano, and his bourbon, what else could he possibly need?

# # #

Jason stood in front of House's door for a moment, still slightly shocked that the older man had practically slammed it in his face.

"Nice guy." His friend Miranda muttered and rolled her eyes.

"No matter." His other friend Evan spoke up breezily. "You let him know, and that's all you need to do. Now let's get to work, shall we?"

Jason gave House's door one more glance before nodding firmly and letting his friends into the apartment. Miranda and Evan had taken Jason under their wing when he had first started working backstage crew on a couple of local theater productions a few years before. Jason would often sing along with the performers while working offstage. After Evan had busted him, he had teamed up with Miranda to thoroughly harass Jason until he had screwed up the courage to audition for an upcoming production of 'Oklahoma'.

He was grateful for their support, even as the idea of doing anything onstage completely unnerved him. Jason was far more comfortable out of the limelight, perfectly content to build sets, run the lighting board, and assist the stage manager.

"What have you got to drink around here?" Evan was arranging himself at the small upright piano in Jason's living room.

"Uh…" Jason opened the refrigerator and looked around. "Beer, water, Mountain Dew…"

"Ugh." Evan wrinkled up his nose. "I cannot _believe_ you insist on drinking Mountain Dew. Vile stuff. I'll have a water, sweetie." His voice took on a teasing tone. "Can't come home tipsy, you know. Little Evan might go to sleep, and we all know what that means…"

"Evan, really?" Miranda groaned. "I think that qualifies as TMI."

Jason laughed a little even as he blushed. Evan had a new man in his life, and made no bones about giving Jason and Miranda as much detail as possible.

"I'll take a beer while you're in there." Miranda called out.

Jason took out a beer and a water, grabbing a Mountain Dew for himself before returning to the living room. Evan accepted the water and took a drink before starting some opening chords.

Miranda smiled slightly and took a quick swig of her beer. "Why do they think up stories that link my name with yours?"

Evan followed behind. "Why do the neighbors chatter all day behind their doors?" He glanced over at Jason. "Feel free to jump in anytime."

Miranda went on with her verse, nodding to Jason afterwards. Jason took a deep breath and started. "Some people claim that you're to blame as much as I…"

"Louder, honey." Evan called out over the piano.

Jason cleared his throat and continued. "Why do you take the trouble to bake my favorite pie…"

Evan nodded encouragement as Jason finished his verse, finishing with a flourish and a wide smile. "Fantastic, Jason. You're going to knock them dead tomorrow night."

Miranda murmured agreement, and Jason glanced down at the floor, the heat rising to his cheeks. "Hopefully I don't choke this time."

Evan waved a hand dismissively. "You're much better prepared this time around." He started playing again. "You'll be swell, you'll be great. Got the whole world on a plate…"

Jason couldn't help but laugh at Evan. The man had a knack for easing tension in any situation. "You guys are going to be there, right?"

"Of course." Miranda smiled warmly and gave Jason a quick squeeze.

"I wouldn't miss it, darling." Evan wrapped his arms around Jason for a tight hug.

With that Jason saw both his friends to the outside door, chatting for a few minutes before closing the door on them. All was quiet until Jason heard the sounds of a piano behind him.

He turned, tuning in to the sound. It sounded as if it were coming from his neighbor's place. He carefully stepped toward the door to the neighboring apartment and listened closer.

It wasn't a familiar piece, but it was beautiful all the same, and Jason stood by the door for a moment to listen. He considered knocking on the door, but recalling the man's reaction to his visit earlier, Jason thought better of it. Instead he returned to his apartment, grabbing another Mountain Dew and sitting down at his drafting desk. A new project awaited him, and he was eager to get started.

The quiet space was one of the few good things about living alone. It had taken some getting used to, but he was finally settling in now. Now that he had no roommate to disturb him, he could work on his various projects in peace.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Jason rose from his table and crossed the room, rising up on tiptoe to look through the peephole.

A smile crept onto his face as he saw who was there, and he couldn't resist teasing a little. "Got all the Tagalongs I need, thanks."

"Ha, ha." The gravelly voice answered from the other side.

Jason snickered a little to himself as he opened the door. "Thought you liked your alone time."

"Changed my mind." House answered as he crossed the threshold. "That offer _is _still open, right?"

"Sure." Jason closed the door. "You want something to drink? I've got beer, water, Mountain Dew…"

"No, thanks. I'm good." House's tone was sharp as he surveyed the room. His eyes landed on the drawing table. "Bringing your work home with you?"

"Sometimes." Jason replied, sitting down at the table again. "Right now I'm working on a side project…doing some art for a comic book a friend of mine is writing."

"Huh." House seemed to be studying the poster art on the walls. "So you're a comic book geek."

"Yeah." Jason never passed up a chance to talk about his other passion. "I started collecting comics when I was a kid. Started with X-Men, Wolverine, Justice League, then started tracking down older stuff. Most of them are in storage, but I've got some of the more valuable ones here."

House's slightly puzzled expression told Jason that he had babbled on long enough. "Sorry. I guess I get kind of excited over this stuff."

"No problem." House was pacing around the room, seemingly unable to settle himself. Finally he nodded firmly. "See you around."

Jason was thoroughly baffled. "Uh…okay. Good of you to stop by." He held his hand out to House. "Don't be a stranger."

House gave Jason an odd look, but reached out to shake Jason's hand. "Right."

With that House was gone, and Jason was left confused, but intrigued. Suddenly he was even more interested in getting to know his enigmatic neighbor. He hoped he would get more opportunity to do so.

# # #

**You all know how this works by now. Read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Insert usual disclaimers and stuff here. Now we're going a bit AU (yes, again!) from the season finale. Just a different POV, that's all.**

# # #

A couple of weeks went by, and Jason nodded in passing to House a few times, but didn't see much of him otherwise. The man kept strange hours, sometimes coming in just as Jason was leaving for work.

He came in late after doing working on some sets for the upcoming production of 'Oklahoma'. Jason hadn't gotten so much as a callback, but he wasn't quite the nervous wreck that he had been the first time he'd auditioned either. Still, Jason had pretty much decided to leave the singing and dancing for those far more confident than him.

Jason grabbed himself a beer from the refrigerator and sat down at his drawing table. The deadline was fast approaching, and he still had some fine detail work to finish. Tonight was going to be a late night.

He wasn't aware of how much time had passed until he heard the outside door open and slam shut, followed by a jangling of keys and a few not so softly uttered curse words. Jason glanced at his watch. Nearly three in the morning. It was late, even by bar standards. Most of them closed up at two.

Jason drained the remains of his now warm beer before putting away his supplies. Now that he was aware of the time, he found his energy gone. He could work on it when he got home from work tomorrow.

He was locking up his apartment when he heard a crash that sounded like breaking glass, freezing at the sound. Was it possible that someone had broken into House's place, and he had confronted the intruder? That didn't seem likely, but House was a pretty good sized guy. Jason guessed he could take down someone if he really needed to.

After a few minutes debate, he opened up his door and glanced around the entryway. House's door was open just a crack. Silence reigned over the space now. Whether that was a good thing remained to be seen.

Jason didn't want to run into the possible intruder, but he wanted to make sure the neighbor guy was okay. He didn't seem to have a lot of visitors or anyone else living with him. It only made sense to check in on him.

He closed his door behind him and quietly made his way to the door, nudging it open with his elbow. "Greg? Are you in here?"

No response was forthcoming, so Jason moved further into the apartment. The layout was similar to his own, but House's place definitely had a lived in vibe as opposed to Jason's more meticulously organized space.

Nothing appeared out of order, not that Jason would have known otherwise. He had maybe exchanged five words with the guy over the last couple of weeks, most of them on his end.

Jason continued on through the living room to look in the kitchen. Nothing there except a coffee cup, a glass, and a bottle of something or other, and definitely no neighbor.

He decided to search the rest of the apartment. If it was anything like his own, it wouldn't take long. "Greg! If you hear me, sing out!" Jason paused briefly. "It's Jason from across the hall. You okay?"

The first door off the hallway would be the bathroom, most likely. Jason swung the door open and nearly jumped back in shock and surprise. House was covered in dirt and dust, a long scratch down the side of his nose. He was slumped against the bathtub that held the shattered remains of a mirror, his eyes closed, his breathing labored, something clutched in his hand and a hand gripping his right leg.

"Shit." Jason's hands shook as he knelt down to investigate further, not entirely sure what he was looking for. "Greg." He shook the older man's shoulder. "Wake up, man."

A bit of panic started to overtake him when he realized there was a possibility that the man wasn't sleeping. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." He muttered to himself as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

"Hello? Yeah, I need an ambulance to 221 Baker Street, Apartment B." He listened while the dispatcher asked him a few questions. "I'm not sure. I found him in his bathroom with some pills. He's breathing, but I can't tell if he's sleeping or unconscious." He huffed irritably. "I don't know…he's got some scratches and stuff on him, and he's all dirty." He sighed, nodding at the dispatcher's response. "Okay, I understand. Thanks."

He let out a hard sigh as he shoved the phone back in his pocket. Suddenly he heard House shift and groan, his eyes fluttering open and staring at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I heard glass breaking…your door was cracked open…thought maybe someone broke in." Jason gestured to House. "Found you unconscious in here and called an ambulance. It's going to be a while, though. I guess a lot of the ambulances are tied up with some disaster in Trenton."

"I know." House growled. "I was there."

"Seriously?" Jason eased himself onto the bathroom floor across from House.

"Yes, _seriously_." House mocked him, rubbing at his leg.

Jason fell silent, not sure what else to say. Finally he spoke again. "Is your leg hurting?"

House threw him a glare that would have packed a lot more punch if it wasn't filtered through glassy eyes. "Been crawling around in rubble for hours. Of course it fucking hurts." He closed his eyes and continued rubbing, clutching the object in his hand.

Upon closer examination, Jason noticed it was a prescription bottle. He nodded toward it. "How many of those things did you take?"

"None of your damn business." House growled again, moving his hand further up his leg. Under his breath he muttered, "Jesus fucking Christ."

"Hey, I'm just trying to help." Jason answered sharply. "You could have taken a bunch of pills because of the pain or because you were trying to kill yourself. I don't know." He tilted his head at House. "_Were_ you going to kill yourself?"

"I wasn't planning on it." House snapped. "I might change my mind if you don't shut the hell up."

"Sorry." Jason mumbled, shifting so that his knees were bent, his hands folded together with his arms resting on his knees.

House fixed him with what should have been a withering look. "Go home. I'm sure Superman and Batman miss you."

Jason smiled a little at that. "I think they'll be okay for a while."

"Well…_I_ don't need you hanging around." House grumbled, his eyes dropping to the floor as he played with the prescription bottle in his hand.

"Is there someone else I should call?" Jason asked.

House merely shook his head in response. "No need."

Jason realized he wasn't going to get anywhere on that front. "How about I just hang out until the ambulance shows up?"

House looked up again. "Don't you fucking listen? I don't need a babysitter, I'm not going to pop more pills, and I don't need you sitting there waiting like some pathetic idiot." He let out a quiet sigh. "Just…go home."

Suddenly someone was banging on the apartment door. "Ambulance!"

Jason hopped up to answer. "Back here by the bathroom!" He turned to House, holding out his hand. "Can you get up?"

House looked thoughtful for a moment before reaching out to take the hand that Jason offered. His grip was surprisingly strong, and it took everything Jason had to pull the older man to his feet. Once there, he wasn't so steady, nearly crumbling the moment he put weight on his right side.

He clutched at Jason, and Jason quickly slung House's arm around his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around House's waist. "I've got you, Greg. No worries. Can you walk?"

"Sort of."

"Okay, let's give it a try." Jason encouraged him. "I've got you."

"You already said that."

"Yeah, I know." Jason was a little embarrassed. "Guess it bears repeating."

House paused for a moment, closing his eyes. Finally he opened them again, staring down at the bottle in his hand. He suddenly pressed it into Jason's hand.

"What's this?" Jason was confused.

"Vicodin." House told him softly, taking a deep breath. "Took three of them. It wasn't suicide. I just needed something…more. Advil wasn't cutting it." He jerked his head back toward the bathroom. "There's one more bottle in there somewhere. Give it to these guys."

Jason nodded firmly. It looked as if House was going to pass out any second. "I will. Come on, let's get you taken care of."

House nodded slowly, and the two of them made their way out of the bathroom and down the hallway to the waiting stretcher. Jason deposited him there and lifted the older man's legs onto the stretcher while the EMTs strapped him in.

"Where's he going?" One of the EMTs asked Jason.

Before Jason could answer, House spoke up. "General."

The EMT nodded firmly, and he turned to Jason. "You mind meeting us down there? The ER folks are probably going to want to ask you some questions."

"Sure, I can do that." Jason nodded.

The EMTs rolled the stretcher out of the apartment, and Jason could hear the two men talking as they placed House in the ambulance and pulled away.

He stared down at the bottle in his hand, thinking what might have happened had he just ignored the sounds of crashing glass in the night. Would House have kept taking pills to kill a pain that wouldn't go away? If that were the case, would anyone have found him before he took too many?

Jason wasn't sure. He curved his fingers almost defiantly around the prescription bottle, clutching it almost as tightly as House had. Sometimes, it paid to be a nosy neighbor. House might not fully appreciate it now, but perhaps he would appreciate it sometime down the line. Even if he didn't, Jason was somewhat comforted by the idea that he had done the right thing. Right now, that was good enough.

# # #

**And it's all yours, readers. Read and review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Back with my usual disclaimers and whatnot. Don't own House, and therefore don't make a dime off this.**

# # #

House felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness, coming to again to the sound of voices surrounding him. Nothing was moving, so not the ambulance. The voices were unfamiliar, so not Plainsboro. Just where the hell was he?

He opened his eyes to see someone working over him, squinting to read the name tag. So they did bring him to General. Good. He didn't want anyone from Plainsboro to see him in his current condition.

He had really managed to screw things up this time. The events of the night were hard enough to deal with. New pain on top of that made things intolerable. Hence the misguided attempt to self-medicate with the Vicodin he had kept hidden behind the now shattered bathroom mirror.

"Doctor House." The female voice drew him out of his thoughts. "I'm Doctor Sheldon. I need to ask you a few questions."

He turned his head in an attempt to focus on the voice in front of him. "What do you want to know?"

"We're told you were in pain." She answered. "Where does it hurt?"

House snorted softly. Asking where it didn't hurt would have been an easier question to answer. "Everywhere."

He thought he saw Doctor Sheldon's mouth quirk up slightly at that. "Okay, where does it hurt _most_?"

House placed his hand on the front of his hip. "Right here, radiating upward into the abdomen."

"What kind of pain?"

House was having trouble focusing long enough to think about the answer. "Mostly stabbing."

Doctor Sheldon frowned and made a note. "I'll schedule an angiogram. It will show us where the blood is or isn't flowing."

House automatically rolled his eyes. "Think I remember that from med school."

Doctor Sheldon smiled a little wider, letting out a tiny laugh. "Then I'm sure I don't have to explain the procedure. Someone will be here to prep you shortly."

House was alone again in the cubicle, listening to the sounds of the bustling ER. It was different from Plainsboro, and yet, almost the same. The same voices soothing patients, giving orders, calling out for medications. He almost felt at home.

"Hey." He vaguely recognized the voice that was suddenly at his side, but he couldn't recall from where.

House turned his head, frowning when he realized that it was his neighbor again. "Why are you here?"

Jason shrugged, looking awkward. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"About the same as when you last saw me." House told him sharply. "Nothing's changed."

Jason fell silent, looking around as if unsure about something. House let out an exasperated huff. "What?"

"Mind if I hang out?"

House thought it was an odd request. "Why?"

"So you can have someone to keep you company." Jason answered. "You shouldn't be alone."

House was oddly touched, but damned if he was going to let Jason know that. "Do what you want."

Instead of leaving, as House expected, the young man pulled over a stool and sat down, pulling out a cell phone as he did so. Soon the sounds of a puzzle game filled the space. "Dang it."

The game started again, with a similar result. House's curiosity finally got the better of him. "What are you playing?"

"Bejeweled." Jason replied, his eyes focused on the small screen. "My best score's 226,000. I hit that and haven't gotten close since." His mouth twisted as the game ended again. He shook his head and held the phone out to House. "Want to play a round?"

"Sure." It wasn't as if he had anything better to do right now. "How do you play this thing?"

"You've never played Bejeweled?" Jason looked surprised. "It's easy. I'll bet you'll be kicking butt in no time."

He quickly showed House some of the basics of the game before handing it over to House. Soon he was completely absorbed in the game, blocking out the excited noises that Jason was making with each match of the little jewels on the screen.

The game ended, and Jason let out a low whistle. "Dang, Greg. 217, 500. Not bad for a rookie."

House handed the phone back to Jason. "Think you can beat that?"

Jason flashed a grin at House. "I can try."

They passed the phone back and forth, trash talking each other as the competition continued. It wasn't until House heard someone clearing their throat that he was aware of how much time had passed.

"We're all ready for you." Doctor Sheldon appeared again. "I'm afraid your son will have to wait outside."

She left, and House gave Jason a baffled look. Jason merely shrugged. "I had to find a way to get in here, so I told the nurse I was your son."

"The nurse was a moron." House muttered. "One look at you and one look at me and she should have known that there was no resemblance."

"I could have been adopted." Jason countered.

"I guess." House reluctantly admitted.

Jason rose from the bench, looking intently at his cell phone screen. "I guess I'd better call my boss and let her know I'm not going to come in today."

"Why would you do that?"

A slight smile crept across Jason's face. "Friend of mine's been in the ER all night. I'm in no shape to work."

"Another lie." House commented.

"Not really." Jason answered. "You've been in the ER, and I've been up all night. For that matter, so have you. Well, except for that part where you were passed out, but you weren't really sleeping, so I guess that doesn't really count."

"But the friend part…" House countered. "That part's a lie."

"Friend, neighbor, whatever." Jason shrugged casually. "Same thing."

House would have argued the point if Jason hadn't turned his back and left the little cubicle. He was almost irritated that the young man just wouldn't leave him alone.

On the other hand, the simple puzzle game and the friendly competition had provided a welcome distraction while he waited. House couldn't be too upset at him for that.

"Okay, Doctor House." Doctor Sheldon was at his side again. "It's showtime."

He was prepped and injected with the dye, and he turned his head slightly in an attempt to see what was happening on the screen.

The frown on Doctor Sheldon's face told House it wasn't good news. He had suspected that for a while, but had avoided doing anything about it. Of course it would come back to bite him in the ass.

"There's definitely a blockage." Doctor Sheldon told him, turning the screen to give him a better view. "That blockage is causing an aneurysm right where you're having the pain. We get in there, take care of the blockage, put in a stent to bolster the site of the aneurysm, and you should be good to go." She fixed him with a steady look. "Of course, that's just a short term solution. Obviously we have to find the root cause."

House wasn't concerned with that at the moment. "And the pain?"

"Based on your history, we'll put you on something non-narcotic." She explained. "But perhaps something a little better than ibuprofen."

Doctor Sheldon reached out to squeeze House's shoulder. "We're going to take good care of you, okay? You've got nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried." House snapped, angered by what other people would have heard as comforting words. To House, they were nothing but lies. Lies that were meant to calm and comfort, but lies just the same.

Doctor Sheldon simply nodded, removing her hand. "I'm going to schedule the surgery, and you'll be moved to a room soon. Do you want me to let your son know what's going on?"

"He's not my son." House huffed. "He's just my neighbor. A big pain in the ass neighbor at that."

Doctor Sheldon was silent for a moment before answering. "You're damned lucky to have a neighbor like him. You'd be in far worse shape otherwise." She paused again. "Actually, you might not be here at all."

House was having trouble finding the downside to that right this moment. He closed his eyes in response, hoping that the doctor would leave him alone at least long enough for him to rest a bit.

He was tired. Bone deep, mind numbingly tired. The angiogram only confirmed what he already knew. His body was falling apart on him. They would be able to patch him up this time, but who knew how long that would hold? He wasn't exactly getting any younger. What would be the next thing to give out on him?

He felt a hand on him, and he opened his eyes to see Doctor Sheldon there again. "I'm going to cry sexual harassment if you don't keep your hands off me."

She rolled her eyes in response. "I just wanted to let you know that you're being moved to your room. Didn't want you to miss the ride."

House couldn't help smiling a little at that. While he wouldn't go as far as to say that he _liked_ Doctor Sheldon, he didn't hate her, either. She wasn't bad as far as doctors went. And as far as he could tell, not bad to look at, either.

It was a short ride from the ER to his room, and the aide soon had House resettled in his new digs. The young man took House's snark in stride, even affording a small smile at some of his more outrageous comments.

Soon House was alone again, and he idly flipped through the limited cable line up, settling on Cartoon Network. A nurse stopped by to check his IVs, and the same aide that had brought him from the ER stopped in with a Styrofoam cup full of ice water.

Doctor Sheldon stopped in again with a clipboard full of paperwork. "We've contacted your medical proxy, but most of this we can go over with you."

He wondered if Wilson would bother to show up. Mostly likely he would once he'd heard that House had taken the Vicodin. The man could hardly pass up such a prime opportunity to lecture him.

"Fine, let's do this." House held out his hand for the pile of paperwork, and he scanned each page, signing and initialing as he did so. Finally he handed the whole pile back to Doctor Sheldon. "There, my part's done. Now when do you do yours?"

"Still working on securing an OR." She answered. "I'm sure you're familiar with that problem."

House shrugged. "I usually just muscle my way in."

Doctor Sheldon laughed. "And does that ever work?"

"You'd be surprised." House couldn't help smiling a little in response.

"I'll have to try that sometime." She answered lightly. "But not today. I'll keep you posted."

House nodded and resumed his cartoon watching. So far, he had to admit, things hadn't gone nearly as badly as he had assumed they would. While he still wouldn't say that things were looking up, they were looking a little brighter than they had a few hours ago. That was something, he supposed.

Suddenly Doctor Sheldon's reassurances were starting to feel less and less like lies. House didn't know what to make of that, but he didn't feel like bothering to analyze it, either. Sleep took precedence over everything else right then, and he succumbed easily, for once.

# # #

Jason resumed playing Bejeweled after explaining his absence to his boss. He agreed to touch base with her later on regarding a couple of projects he was working on, and assured her that he would most likely be in the next day.

He was so absorbed in his game that he didn't hear anyone sit next to him. After the game ended, he looked up and nodded at the newcomer. "Hey."

"Hello." The dark haired man nodded politely in response.

"Waiting for someone?"

"A friend of mine." The man went on to explain. "I guess his neighbor found him after he took some pills." He shook his head in befuddlement. "I don't understand why he'd want to come _here_. Normally he'd go to Plainsboro." He then looked at Jason. "What about you?"

"My neighbor." Jason told him. "I heard a bunch of noise and breaking glass late last night, so I thought maybe someone was breaking into the place. Found him in the bathroom with a pill bottle in his hand. He looked like he'd been through a war or something. Anyway, turned out he was just hurting so bad that he needed something a little stronger. Guess he screwed up the dose or something."

The man seated next to him seemed to pale slightly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What's your neighbor's name?"

"Greg House."

"_Dammit_." The man ran his hand through his hair, letting it settle at the back of his neck.

Realization dawned on Jason. He and this man were waiting for the same person. Jason held out his hand. "Jason Sanders. I live across from Greg."

"Doctor James Wilson." Wilson shook the outstretched hand. "House's friend."

Jason was baffled. Why wouldn't House want to call his friend? "Nice to meet you."

"Same." Wilson flashed Jason a brief smile that quickly faded. "So House _did_ take the pills."

"That's what he said." Jason tilted his head curiously at Wilson. "He shouldn't have?"

"He's supposed to be off them." Wilson explained. "I didn't even know he still had any around."

"I guess he must have been pretty desperate, then." Jason told him. "He was still hurting pretty badly when I found him."

"I'm surprised he let you stay."

"Oh, he tried to kick me out." Jason answered. "Didn't work."

"I'm glad it didn't."

"Yeah, me too."

The two men fell silent, and Jason started his game up again. He managed to keep himself occupied until he heard the sound of footsteps.

"Doctor James Wilson?"

Wilson lifted his head. "Yes?"

"Doctor Kathleen Sheldon." She held out a hand to Wilson. "I understand that you're Doctor House's medical proxy."

_Doctor?_ Jason had no idea that the scruffy older man who seemed to live in jeans and t-shirts was a doctor. He certainly didn't fit the type.

"I am." Wilson affirmed. "So what happened?"

Doctor Sheldon went on to explain everything. The words went over Jason's head, but whatever it was, it didn't sound good.

"I see." Wilson was speaking again. "Is there any further damage?"

"Not that we can tell." Doctor Sheldon answered. "We'll know more once we get in there."

"And about the drugs?"

Doctor Sheldon sighed a little. "We have him on a non-narcotic IV medication for pain. Once he's out of surgery, we can discuss pain management options."

Wilson shook his head as he signed a pile of forms. "I thought he was doing fine on the ibuprofen. He never said anything."

"I can't help you with that." Doctor Sheldon's lips seemed to quirk upward slightly. "You can discuss that with him when you see him. He's in room 516." She then turned to Jason. "And you can see him too, without having to claim that you're his son."

Jason smiled a little at that. He was surprised the ruse worked at all. "Cool, thanks."

The two men rode the elevator together in silence until Wilson broke it. "Why the hell didn't he call me? I could have done something."

"I don't know." Jason answered. "I asked him if there was someone he wanted me to call. He said no."

"You weren't the slightest bit suspicious?"

"He was pissed off enough. I sure as hell didn't want to add any fuel to that flame."

Wilson just shook his head. "It just doesn't make any sense. If it were me, I'd want him there."

"Well, you're you and he's…him." Jason was getting irritated with this line of conversation. "And by the way, this isn't about you."

Wilson looked mildly affronted. "I never even implied that."

"Actually…" Jason was starting to get a little nervous after his initial outburst. "You kind of did. Maybe there's a good reason Greg didn't call you."

Finally they arrived at House's room, and Jason hung out in the hallway outside while Wilson went in. He only caught a few snippets of conversation, but it was clear by the rapidly raising voices that House was less than thrilled to see his friend.

Wilson strode briskly out of the room a few minutes later, muttering something that Jason couldn't quite catch. Jason decided that now would be an excellent time to find a vending machine.

He found one at the end of the corridor, selecting a Mountain Dew and cracking it open on the spot. It was enough to recharge him a little bit, and he felt a little better prepared to deal with what was sure to be a very ornery House.

Jason took a deep breath before entering the room. House was propped up against the pillows, the remote in his hand and a tense expression on his face. "Hey."

House's eyes flicked toward Jason in annoyance. "You again?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm a pain in the ass. Whatever." Jason plopped down into a chair. "So what's the word?"

"On what?"

"On whatever they're going to do to you?"

House rolled his eyes. "Still waiting on an OR. Once they get me in, it's pretty simple. They'll suck out the clot, put in a stent to support the aneurysm, and they'll kick me out in a couple of days." He absentmindedly rubbed his leg. "It's what they should have done for this thing ten years ago instead of trying to treat it as fucking _muscle strain_."

Jason wasn't sure what to say. "I'd say I'm sorry, but that seems kind of lame. I guess I don't know what to say."

"Don't have to say anything." House answered crisply. "You didn't do it."

Jason nodded, letting his mind wander for a few minutes. A thought occurred to him. "Hey, is there something you want from your place?"

House gave him an odd look. "Like what?"

"I don't know…If it were me I'd want my IPod, my DS…something. I'd get bored just sitting around."

House appeared to ponder this for a moment before nodding firmly. "There's an extra key on top of the door frame. My backpack's just inside. Just bring the whole thing."

Jason jumped up immediately. "Sure thing, Greg. I'll be back in a while, okay?"

"Fine. If for some reason I'm not here, just leave it."

"Okay, will do." Jason started out the room door.

"Hey, Jason?"

Jason poked his head back into the room. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." House's eyes dropped to his lap. "You're…not bad."

"No problem, Greg." Jason couldn't help smiling a little. "See you in a while."

As Jason left, he thought that perhaps the ice was starting to thaw between him and his neighbor. It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to him or House today. Matter of fact, it could end up being a very good thing for both of them.

# # #

**Back to you, dear readers. Read and review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Believe it or not, I didn't forget about this one. :D As usual, don't own House or Cuddy, just the O/Cs.**

# # #

When Jason returned to the apartment building, he easily found the extra key and let himself in. As House had told him, the backpack was just inside, casually tossed on the floor next to the door.

He almost simply picked the thing up and left until he got a good look at the place. While it didn't exactly seem dirty, it could use a good picking up. And then there was the matter of the bathroom. Jason was sure that the shattered bits of the mirror were still scattered in the bathtub and surrounding floor.

Jason decided to leave the rest of the place alone. He was pretty sure House wouldn't appreciate him touching his stuff. The bathroom was a different matter. All that broken glass could present a real danger, not to mention an unwelcome reminder of all the man had gone through over the last day or so.

Decision made, Jason went off in search of a broom and other cleaning supplies before entering the bathroom. He shuddered a little at the sight. It still resembled a war zone, with shattered glass everywhere and a light coating of dirt and dust on the side of the tub and the floor. Oddly appropriate, Jason thought. House had fought one hell of a mental and physical battle here. Even though he had broken down and taken the Vicodin, Jason couldn't say that House had lost the battle. He was still alive, after all. He certainly could have taken more of the pills than he had if he had wanted to do so. Perhaps he would have had Jason not shown up.

Jason shook off the thought and got down to work. He was so absorbed in the task that he didn't hear anything else.

"Excuse me." The soft, yet firm voice nearly made Jason jump out of his skin. "Where's House? And who are you?"

Jason turned around to see a petite brunette standing in the bathroom doorway, dressed in a low-cut blouse, pencil skirt, and high heels. The look was professional, yet slightly provocative, and Jason couldn't help but admire the view, just a little. He brushed his hand off on his jeans and crossed the small room to extend it toward her.

"Jason Sanders. I'm Greg's neighbor from across the hall."

"Doctor Lisa Cuddy." The brunette smiled warmly and shook his hand in a surprisingly firm grip. "Nice to meet you. Now where's House?"

Jason wasn't sure how much he should tell this woman. "He's…not here."

Cuddy pressed her lips together and folded her arms over her chest. "I can see that." She glanced away briefly. "He didn't come into work today, and he didn't call, either. I was concerned, so…I thought I'd check in on him."

Jason took a deep breath before answering. "He was taken to Princeton General last night. Well…more like early this morning."

Cuddy's eyes widened. "Why? What happened?"

"He was in a lot of pain." Jason explained. "Guess he'd been working that crane disaster in Trenton all night, and…I don't know. Seems like there was more going on, but he wasn't saying much. He was almost unconscious when I found him."

"My God." Cuddy gasped softly. Her eyes flicked to the open spot in the wall, the one that had been covered up by the now-shattered mirror before seeming to survey the rest of the room. "I don't quite know how to ask this, but…" She laughed nervously. "Did he…take something? Maybe something that would have knocked him out?"

Something clutched in Jason's chest at the question. "Ma'am, I have no idea. All I did was call the ambulance and make sure he was still alive when they got here."

Cuddy arched an eyebrow at him, as if she were studying him. She seemed like someone who could sniff out a lie in nothing flat, and Jason suddenly got nervous.

"House took Vicodin by the truckload for years. He's an addict." Cuddy told him, her steady gaze never wavering. "As his boss, I need to know if he's using again."

Jason was pretty sure that popping a couple of pills in a time of extreme need didn't qualify as 'using'. Of course, he wasn't an addict himself, so what did he know? Finally he shook his head. "I don't know how to answer that. I don't know him that well."

Cuddy nodded and backed away slightly, uncrossing her arms. "I suppose I'll track him down at General." She tilted her head, a slight frown crossing her delicate features. "You _did_ say General, right?"

"Right." Jason was still nervous. If House's boss found out he had taken the Vicodin, would she fire him? That seemed unfair, but it was a question that wouldn't leave his mind. "Hey, uh…Doctor Cuddy?"

"Yes?"

"What if Greg took a little Vicodin?" He asked her. "What if he was in so much pain that nothing else touched it? Would you fire him?"

The woman's face softened. "That's not entirely up to me. The board of directors would have to make that decision." She sighed softly. "He's a brilliant doctor. If it were up to me, no, I wouldn't fire him. The board might feel differently."

"You'd have to tell them, wouldn't you?"

She twisted her mouth, finally shaking her head. "Not necessarily. I suppose it would depend on why he took it."

Jason finally decided to tell the whole story. When he was done, Cuddy's eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

"I had no idea he was in so much pain." She spoke sadly. "I wish he would have said something. Maybe I could have helped him."

"Maybe you still can." Jason suggested. "I have his room information. He doesn't seem to have a whole lot of friends. Seems like he could use a couple more."

She laughed bitterly. "He told me friends was the last thing he wanted to be."

Jason felt a pang of sympathy for the woman. House was a tough nut to crack, no doubt. "It's still worth a shot."

"I suppose you're right." Cuddy fixed him with a warm smile.

Jason searched his pockets, finally coming up with a small notepad and a pen and scribbling out House's room information. "He might not be there when you get there. It sounded like they were getting ready to get him into surgery pretty soon."

Cuddy nodded and accepted the piece of paper, scanning it before tucking it into her purse. She reached out to squeeze his arm. "I'm glad you found him. Thank you."

"No problem." Jason shrugged. "Just seemed like the right thing to do."

Cuddy left with a slight smile, and he couldn't help wondering if there was more behind the woman's behavior beyond a boss's concern for her employee. He shook off the thought and returned to his clean-up. What happened between House and that woman was none of his business anyway.

# # #

House's eyes drifted open, his mind still hazy from the anesthesia. For once, he wasn't feeling pain anywhere. It was a beautiful feeling, except for the fuzzy brain part. He wasn't so crazy about that.

"Ah, you're awake." Doctor Sheldon's voice penetrated the fog. "Good."

House turned toward her in an attempt to focus on her. The attempt was an utter failure, as he saw about three or four of her. Not that he objected. The more of her, the better.

He snickered at the thought, and Doctor Sheldon tilted her head questioningly. "Still feeling the effects of the anesthesia?"

"You could say that." House thought he sounded like he was underwater. "There's, like, four of you trying to talk to me."

Doctor Sheldon let out a tiny laugh and lightly squeezed his shoulder. "I'll come back a little later, then I can give you the rundown on how things went."

"'Kay." House mumbled and closed his eyes. This was how he felt when he had popped those couple of Vicodin just the night before. He couldn't believe how much his tolerance had dropped in the last year. Hell, he had popped the drug like candy for years and never felt this fuzzy. Or maybe he had been that fuzzy and he'd never noticed.

Finally the fog started to lift, and the room started to come into focus. House could feel his leg start to throb again, but it was its normal throbbing, not the sharp, stabbing pain that had begun when the aneurysm developed. He was oddly relieved.

He found the call button and hit it, still fumbling slightly. A nurse soon showed up, fixing him with a soft smile. "Feeling better?"

"Sort of." He croaked. "Leg hurts."

The nurse pulled his chart and scanned over it. "I'll have to get approval from Doctor Sheldon for your pain medication. Shouldn't take me too long."

House huffed irritably and rubbed at his leg absentmindedly. Soon a shadow crossed over his bed, and he looked up to see Doctor Sheldon smiling down at him.

"We're going to move you back to your room." She explained. "Lindsey will get you back on your pain medication and make sure you're comfortable. I'll come back in a little while and update you, okay?"

House nodded, letting his mind wander while the nurse and the aide arranged everything and started to roll him back to his room. Lindsey, the nurse, hooked up his IV and pushed a few buttons on the control panel. "You're all set, Doctor House. Do you need me to explain how the controls work?"

"Nope." House answered.

"Okay." Lindsey met his answer with a warm smile. "If you need anything, hit the button."

Within half an hour, House heard a tap on his open door. He looked over to see Doctor Sheldon again, only one of her this time. "Hello again. Mind if I come in?"

"Guess not." House found the button to raise the head of his bed so that he was mostly sitting up. "So what's the word?"

"Things look pretty good at the aneurysm site." Doctor Sheldon told him as she eased into a nearby chair. "We were able to get right in there and do what we needed to do."

"I think I hear a 'but' in there."

Doctor Sheldon nodded. "There seems to be some additional clotting activity. I want to keep you here until we can track down the source."

House huffed irritably. As far as he was concerned, he had already been here long enough. He was good and ready to go home. "Any ideas?"

"I have a couple of theories." Doctor Sheldon answered. "As soon as you recover a bit from this surgery, I want to get you in for some more tests. My theory might lead to some additional surgery, but I don't want to go there unless we absolutely have to." She tilted her head at him. "Sorry I don't have better news for you."

House shrugged. "Kind of used to it by now."

Doctor Sheldon placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. While initially her obsessive need to touch him had irritated him, House now found himself comforted by her little touches and squeezes. He wondered if she was like that with all her patients. "I'm about to leave for the day, but Doctor Keller will be taking over your care in the meantime. He's tough, but he's a good guy. I think you'll like him."

House let out a 'hmph', and Doctor Sheldon laughed. "Come on, now. I can't be here 24 hours a day. I have a life, too."

"Fine." House rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll let you."

Her hand smoothed across his shoulder as she released him, and she said her good-byes with a smile.

House glanced over at the door when he heard voices. Doctor Sheldon poked her head in once again.

"Looks like you've got company."

House hoped it was Jason returning with his backpack. The oddly familiar click of high heels on linoleum told him otherwise, however.

"House." Cuddy's gentle voice was filled with concern.

Something squeezed in House's chest at the sight of the petite brunette. She was the last person he expected to see. He wasn't sure he wanted to see her. "If you're wondering, yes, I took the Vicodin. I assume Wilson already filled you in."

"I haven't talked to Wilson." Cuddy answered as she entered the room and occupied the same chair Doctor Sheldon had. "I stopped by your apartment. Your neighbor told me what happened."

House growled and rolled his eyes. "Doesn't explain what you're doing _here_. Don't you have a hospital to run…a man-child to chase after…something?"

"I broke up with Lucas." She blurted out.

The silence stretched out between them at her sudden announcement. Finally House broke it. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Cuddy twisted her hands together. "It just…wasn't right. I couldn't go through with it."

"Smart decision." House nodded. "Better to figure that out now than years later when Rachel decides to go emo because of you and him fighting."

Cuddy nodded, staring down at her hands. "So…about last night."

"Yeah, about that." House studied her, waiting for a response.

"I'm sorry." Cuddy told him softly. "I was…horrible to you. I had no right. I just hope you can forgive me."

House sighed heavily and looked down, fiddling with a thread that had come loose on the sheet. "Maybe. Eventually." He laughed sharply. "I'm not so good at that whole forgiveness thing."

"I know." Cuddy untwisted her hands and stood, reaching out to House with one hand. "And I know the last thing you want is to be friends, but…I'm still offering."

House turned over the idea in his mind. Cuddy's behavior toward him was a pleasant surprise. He was sure she would be much more upset.

Finally he nodded, reaching out to take Cuddy's outstretched hand. "I think…I'd rather be friends than anything else. Just don't expect anything more from me."

A slow smile curved over Cuddy's face. "I can live with that."

There was another tap on the door, and Jason poked his head into the room. He seemed a bit surprised at Cuddy's presence. "Am I interrupting? I mean, I can come back."

"Nope." House waved him in, gesturing for his backpack.

Cuddy squeezed House's hand and released it, nodding to Jason before leaving the room. Jason almost immediately took the chair she had occupied.

"So what's the deal, Greg?" Jason asked. "There a little something going on between you two?"

House smiled a little in response as he found his PSP Go, flipping it open and loading a game. "Nope. She's just a friend."

"Cool." Jason grinned in response. "Friends are good."

House rolled his eyes at the words, but he found himself in complete agreement with the guy. Maybe there was some merit to this whole reaching out thing. It seemed to be working out pretty well so far.

# # #

**Fear not, my O/C devotees...I am not developing any sort of Huddy romance here. (Would I do that? I mean, really.) Read and review. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Again, it's been forever on this one. Sorry about that. Once again, I don't own House or Wilson, just everyone else.**

# # #

Doctor Sheldon made her way to her floor, meeting up with Doctor Keller almost immediately, and the two of them started making their rounds.

Doctor Keller was Doctor Sheldon's opposite in nearly every way. Where she tended to be a soft touch with her patients, he was rough and gruff, a straight shooter who had frequently been accused of having no bedside manner.

She knew differently, of course. Keller had little patience for the handwringing of family members who, in his words, had read too much WebMD and thought they were doctors themselves. He preferred to go straight to the patient if at all possible, laying out all the options, leaving no truth uncovered. Sheldon knew that when she had left the previous evening, she was leaving House in exceedingly capable hands.

They soon reached the end of their rounds without mentioning House. Sheldon was baffled. "I think we missed someone."

"You mean House? He's back in ICU." Keller told her bluntly, with no preface. "Pulmonary embolism in the middle of the night. His clotting factors are through the goddamn roof, and no one seems to able to figure out why. We upped his meds and handled the embolism. Figured ICU could hold him until you came in."

"Dammit, you should have called me." Sheldon snapped.

Keller shook his bald head. "You've been here too damn much as it is. This place won't fall to pieces without you. Besides, he's scheduled for an ultrasound first thing this morning."

Sheldon sighed and fixed Keller with a sharp glare. "He's my patient. You still should have called me."

Her pager started beeping before she could continue her rant. She unclipped it and glanced at it before shutting it off. "Speak of the devil. Guess I'm off. Have a good one."

"You too."

With that they separated, and Sheldon quickly made her way to the ICU. The head nurse immediately gestured toward the ward. "Martinez wants a consult."

"Thank you." Sheldon nodded in response as she entered the ICU.

House was in the second bed from the entrance, hooked up to a full oxygen face mask, his eyes closed, the monitor beeping steadily. Martinez was at his side, making notes in House's case file.

He looked up when Sheldon approached, fixing her with a warm smile. "Good morning, Sheldon. You got my page, I see."

"I did." Sheldon gestured for House's file. When Martinez handed it to her, she started looking through it, searching for anything she might have missed the day before.

"Both Keller and I went over the file. Twice." Martinez seemed to read her mind. "Nothing jumped out."

"We're missing _something_." Sheldon murmured. "Probably dates back to the original infarction."

"The tech is coming in with the portable ultrasound before too long." Martinez told her. "Perhaps that will show something."

Sheldon hoped the ultrasound would confirm her suspicions, though she was reluctant to subject House to further surgery. Still, better to put him through surgery than to wait for the next disaster to strike. She hated to think what could happen if another clot busted loose.

Almost on cue, the ultrasound tech rolled in the portable unit, flashing Sheldon a quick smile as she set up. House was non-reactive right up until the tech opened his gown and squirted the gel on to his chest.

His eyes flew open, a muffled curse escaping him. Sheldon couldn't help suppressing a tiny smile at House's startled response.

"We're performing an ultrasound on your heart." She explained. "After what happened to you last night, we can't afford to wait any longer to find the source of the clotting activity."

House seemed to sink into the bed, glancing down and giving a short nod. The tech performed the ultrasound while Sheldon watched the screen.

"Stop right there." She instructed the tech. "Now zoom in."

The tech did so, capturing the image, and Sheldon rounded the bed to take a closer look. She turned the screen toward House, tapping it with one finger.

"As I suspected." She told him. "See that dark spot? That's a hole in your heart."

House's eyes crinkled ever so slightly behind the mask, and he lifted it away long enough to speak. "Explains a lot." He rasped out.

"It explains the clotting." Sheldon responded. "I would guess you've had it for years. Probably contributed to the original infarction."

House frowned, moving the mask again. "So it's fixable?"

"It's major surgery." Sheldon warned him. "You'll have a long recovery ahead of you. But yes, it's fixable."

House looked relieved. "How soon?"

"As soon as I can arrange the surgical consult and secure an OR." Sheldon assured him. "I'll also get in touch with your medical proxy and draw up the necessary paperwork."

House scowled. "Is that really necessary?"

"Standard procedure." She answered crisply. "Don't worry. I'll make sure we only stick to the medical. Anything else isn't relevant right now."

She reached out to squeeze his shoulder, and House seemed to relax under her hand, unlike times before when he had tensed under her touch. Sheldon got the impression that House either didn't care to be touched or wasn't used to it.

She had seen it many times. A patient would be admitted, more or less alone. Often they were scared, lonely, looking for reassurance. A simple touch usually went a long way toward easing a patient's fears.

House was a different animal, as she had quickly found out when she first laid a hand on him. From the beginning, he had insisted on the absolute, unvarnished truth. It made Sheldon wonder what kind of doctor he was. Probably similar to Keller.

She left the ICU to collect the necessary forms and make the phone call she had been dreading. Her previous dealing with James Wilson hadn't gone so well, and she didn't expect this to go any better. Somehow Sheldon suspected House's friend would try to find a way to tie this to House's previous Vicodin use.

"James Wilson."

"Good morning. This is Doctor Kathleen Sheldon at Princeton General. How are you?" Sheldon put on her most pleasant, soothing voice.

"Fine…" Wilson sounded guarded in his response. "Is this about House?"

"I'm afraid so. He had a pulmonary embolism last night. We transferred him back to the ICU."

There was a long silence before Wilson replied. "Is he okay?"

"He had an ultrasound this morning that revealed a hole in his heart." Sheldon explained. "We think that's what led to his clotting activity. It's possible that it contributed to the original infarction."

"That doesn't answer the question." Sheldon could hear the concern and tension in Wilson's voice.

"He'll need surgery to repair the hole." Sheldon answered. "That's the primary reason why I'm calling."

"Let me guess." Wilson let out an ironic chuckle. "More forms."

"Always." Sheldon couldn't help but laugh a little in response. "Seems to be a way of life for us, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Wilson was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Is House…you know…_able_ to give consent for the surgery?"

"Oh, yes. He's conscious." Sheldon answered quickly. "I think he could use some company. He seems so…alone."

Wilson sighed. "I think I'm the last person he wants to see right now. I said some terrible things to him yesterday."

Sheldon debated pushing the point, but she decided to back off. She suspected that Wilson was probably right, to a certain extent. "You do still need to come in and sign the forms. You might as well try to see him if you can."

"I'll do my best." Wilson responded. "Thanks for calling."

They hung up, and Sheldon made one more call to arrange for the surgical consult. That done, she returned to the ICU to check in on House.

His young neighbor was sitting at his bedside, telling some story. House looked pained, but amused.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Sheldon teased them both.

"Oh, no." The young man quickly rose from the chair. "Just stopping in on my way to work." He gave House a quick nod. "I'll stop by later. Anything you need?"

House shook his head and closed his eyes, and the young man nodded at Sheldon on his way out.

Sheldon checked House's monitors and made a few notes before speaking again. "Nice that he stopped in."

House shrugged and rolled his eyes through the mask before moving it. "Get a hold of Wilson?"

"Yes, I did." Sheldon answered. "He's going to come in and sign his end of the paperwork. I think he wants to come see you, too."

"Don't want to see him." House grumbled.

"That's up to you." Sheldon told him crisply. "I arranged for a surgical consult. We should be able to get moving on this pretty quickly."

House nodded, moving his mask one more time. "Thanks." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, for a doctor, you're not half bad."

Sheldon laughed a little, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "And you're not the worst patient I've ever had."

House suddenly reached over and placed his hand over hers, letting out a long sigh. His eyes flicked upward, sadness and a hint of fear reflected in bright blue.

Sheldon didn't know what to say. Normally she would have offered words of comfort, but she already knew House didn't want to hear them.

Instead she turned over her hand and grasped his, squeezing lightly. "We're going to do the best we can with you. I won't tell you everything's going to be okay, because I don't know if it will be. It's risky, but I think you already know that."

She saw House swallow hard and nod firmly. His grip tightened for a moment before releasing her hand, moving the mask. "Get out." He rasped.

Sheldon was startled at House's brusque response until it dawned on her what was happening. She quickly squeezed House's shoulder one more time before leaving the ICU.

This had to be an overwhelming experience for House. Sheldon knew that doctors were worse patients than the general public. All that medical knowledge was useless when you were the one in the hospital bed.

She strode down the hallway to begin her next set of rounds. For some reason she could still feel House's rough, warm hand in hers, still see those brilliant eyes reflecting his sadness and fear.

Sheldon hoped that Wilson showed up, and soon. House needed all the support he could get right now. She just hoped that Wilson would be the kind of friend that House needed.

# # #

House managed to hold it together long enough for Sheldon to leave the ICU before letting out a long, shaky sigh and quickly swiping at his eyes. Everything was crashing down on him right now, and it was damned overwhelming.

Waking up in the middle of the night unable to breathe, feeling as if someone was sticking a knife deep into his chest hadn't exactly improved matters. Were it not for the quick actions of the medical team, he might not have survived the night.

For the second time in as many weeks, he found himself scared of dying. First in the collapsed building, now here at General. It was an unfamiliar emotion for someone who had rarely given a second thought to whether he lived or died at all.

Knowing what was happening should have been a relief. It wasn't, not really. Fixing the hole in his heart meant open heart surgery, and that carried its own set of risks. And there was a possibility that his clotting issues would continue despite the repair. He couldn't deny that.

At least Jason had stopped by this morning. If nothing else, it was a pleasant distraction to listen to him talk about his technical rehearsals and his comic book project.

He hadn't gotten a callback, but he seemed okay with it, more or less. No, he wasn't going to try again. He was a 'techie', and he was cool with that. Really.

House had his doubts, but hadn't felt like pursuing it. Just breathing was taking enough of his energy right now.

"Doctor House?" A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "You have a visitor."

House looked up to see Wilson enter the ICU, hands in his pockets and an unreadable expression on his face. "Hey."

"What do you want?" House rasped.

"Your doctor had more forms for me to sign." Wilson answered. "Figured I'd stop in while I was here."

"I'm still alive." House snapped. "You can go."

Wilson pressed his lips together, a little sigh escaping him as he nodded. "Thought that would be your reaction." He pulled up the chair at the side of the bed and eased himself into it. "Look, I said some awful things to you yesterday."

"No shit."

"_And_…I'm sorry." Wilson leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together and staring at the floor. "I didn't know how much pain you were living with."

"You never asked."

"You never told me."

"Why would I?" House demanded. "You'd just assume I was looking for a fix anyway."

"Dammit, House, I don't want to fight with you!" Wilson snapped, running a hand through his hair. "I was _this close_ to losing you again. It scared the hell out of me. I don't even care that you took the pills. I just want you…here."

"Until the next Mrs. Wilson shows up."

Wilson sighed heavily. "I know I let myself get…distracted. Doesn't mean I care about you any less."

"Can't tell."

"I haven't given you as much of my time as I used to. You're pissed. I get it."

House could feel his irritation growing. Wilson didn't get it at all. Maybe he never did. Maybe their entire friendship was based on House's neediness and Wilson's need to play Superman.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Maybe if he ignored Wilson, the man would go away. House didn't need him anyway.

"House?" So much for that plan. "Are you okay?"

House opened his eyes and glared at Wilson. "What the hell do you think?"

"I think I'm missing something." Wilson answered. "I wish you'd just talk to me."

"And I wish you'd fucking listen."

There was a brief silence before Wilson spoke again. "I'm listening now."

"Too late." House replied roughly.

Wilson's face nearly crumbled, the hurt obvious. He pulled it together quickly, however, nodding firmly and rising to his feet. "This isn't over. I'll be back."

"Don't threaten me."

Just as Wilson started to leave, Sheldon showed up, another doctor with her. "Ah, I see I'm just in time." She gave Wilson a steely look. "This is Doctor Antonucci. He'll be performing your surgery, Doctor House. Since you're both here, I'll have him give you both the rundown."

"Actually…I was just leaving." Wilson's voice was tense.

Suddenly House didn't want Wilson to leave. The idea of facing this alone was almost more than he could take. "You don't have to."

Wilson turned toward House. "Do you _want_ me to stay?"

House debated with himself briefly. If he said 'yes', he would be opening himself up to a whole new level of vulnerability. If he said 'no', it would be just business as usual for them. Was that really what he wanted?

He looked away from Wilson and nodded his assent.

Wilson immediately eased himself back down into the chair, briefly reaching out to touch House's shoulder. "Then I'll stay."

House blew out a silent sigh of relief, swallowing the lump that threatened to close up his throat. He barely listened as Antonucci explained how the surgery would go and what to expect during the recovery process.

Wilson, of course, asked all the right questions. Damn good thing, too, as House wasn't sure he would have remembered all the details in his current state.

Once the consult was complete, Wilson rose from the chair, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Now I'm really leaving. I'll see you when you come out of surgery."

"I'll be here."

A wide smile broke out on Wilson's face. "I really hope so."

House hoped so, too.

# # #

**Back to you, readers. Read and review.**


End file.
